4 Benefits Of Using Storytelling In Marketing

Brand storytelling isn’t a new concept, as Susan Gunelius wrote back in 2013. Brands of all sizes realize the need to entertain their customers and prospects via the age-old method of storytelling. And just as Gunelius wrote back in 2013, "the opportunities to tell stories as part of direct and indirect brand marketing initiatives have become a strategic priority."

Here are four benefits for brands who utilize storytelling as part of their overall marketing strategies.

1. Convey Your Personality

Storytelling is the perfect platform to let your brand's personality shine through. Not by selling of course but via the stories you tell be they created by the brand itself, via user-generated or a combination of both. Never be afraid to let the personality of your brand come through loud and clear via storytelling.

Just remember it is your brand's personality you're sharing, not some individual's; not some marketing team's and so on. Your customers want to see and experience your brand's personality.

2. Bring Your Brand In Front As The Lead

Damien Dally, Country Manager Jeep U.K. says, “Storytelling in the automotive industry has been key in marketing campaigns for some time, especially since the advent of interactive/social media. This can be something metaphoric, yet simple, like a journey, to something more in-depth, with use of roles and a plot for the more adventurous. Portraying your brand as the protagonist in either case is essential.”

Doing this, will ensure the brand is intrinsically linked to the story’s message. This can range from ensuring your brand is known as one that will deliver quality results, to perhaps setting the brand above its rivals, be it as a champion, a maverick, or both. In either case, the brand needs to stand out, which sounds simple, but can easily be forgotten, especially in an overcomplicated story.

3. Hit The Emotional Quotient

Storytelling in of itself is perhaps the best way to hit that emotional chord with your customers. Tell stories that are real or at the very least based on real stories and tell them in a way that evokes feelings and emotions and so on. Do not under any circumstances try and hit that emotional level just for the sake of hitting it for consumers will see right through you.

“We know staying fit and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is hard for most people, so we inspire our readers and clients with stories,” says Terry Asher Moncada of GymJunkies. “Stories of ordinary people who broke bad habit in extraordinary ways, stories of how we also sometimes feel too lazy or too busy to go to the gym. We don’t have a problem with being vulnerable and it touches our readers emotionally and kicks them into action.”

Be genuine. Be honest. Be real.

"Humans have always loved good stories" says Max Tsypliaev, CEO of Comindware. "And professional marketers use that fact to their advantage. Do not write fake stories and never claim a story is true that everyone knows is not."

4. Keep 'Em Coming Back For More

Any brand on the planet wants its customers and prospects for that matter, to come back for more. And the 'more' can manifest itself in many ways including sales of course but that gets old real fast. A better way to keep them coming back is via storytelling.

As Rachel Gillett wrote in Fast Company, "when we read a story, not only do the language parts of our brains light up, but any other part of the brain that we would use if we were actually experiencing what we’re reading about becomes activated as well."

Just consider the fact that Americans alone consumer over 100,000 digital words every single day but 92% say they want brands to tell stories amongst all those words. So don't just throw one stat after another at consumers: Tell them a story!

"Stop boring everyone with just numbers," says Vasiliy Makritskiy, CEO of Docs.Zone. "Everyone has stats they want to share. Just get a little creative in how you share them."

Here's the full infographic via Fast Company, which includes the above stats as well as others via The Science of Storytelling.